Qualcomm taps Samsung and UMC for 28nm production

Qualcomm has signed up UMC and Samsung to churn out its 28nm chips. The move is hardly surprising as Qualcomm is already struggling to meet demand for its Snapdragon S4 processors.

According to the Taiwan Economic Times, UMC will start churning out S4 chips sometime in the fourth quarter. The tape out and versification are apparently already done. UMC will reportedly produce between 3,000 and 5,000 wafers per month, or about 20 to 30 percent of the volume currently handled by TSMC.

In addition, Qualcomm apparently struck another deal with Samsung, but the exact details remain unclear.

More than anything, the move could be a signal to TSMC. The UMC volumes do not appear too significant, but they could be just the first step. Although we do not know the volume or exact nature of the Samsung deal, it should be enough to sound the alarm at TSMC.